Lady Macbeth In William Shakespeare's Macbeth

2271 words - 9 pages

Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

In act 1 scene, we see lady MacBeth reading a letter that her husband,
MacBeth has sent her, it has been written as a soliloquy, she reads
aloud to the audience how he has been given information about his
future by a group of witches. MacBeth sent this letter to his wife
quickly, he is was obviously pleased with the news and wanted her to
know about it. This gives the audience the impression that Lady
MacBeth was very dominant in their relationship, and by telling her
about the prophecy she would know what to do. Lady MacBeth already
knows that MacBeth is the Thane of Cawdor and according to the witches
prophecy he will soon be King. But she says, "Yet do I fear thy
nature. It is too full o' milk of kindness To catch the nearest way."
Lady MacBeth is worried that her husband is to weak to do what has to
be done. Already we see that Lady MacBeth has formed a plan. Lady
MacBeth thinks that MacBeth will be King, and at this point in the
play we start to see the evil side of her begin to come out. She
decides that he is too kind and must be changed, "That I may pour my
spirits in thine ear, and chastise with the valour of my tongue" she
means she will persuade him to do what she wants. In her plan MacBeth
must be ruthless, "the illness should attend" (a touch of evil) .She
knows MacBeth would rather do it the right way rather than cheat to
get what he wants. As the act continues the audience experiences
exactly how evil Lady MacBeth can be. After hearing the news that
Duncan the King is coming to stay at the castle, Lady MacBeth prepares
herself for what her and her husband must do. She starts talking to
the audience in a soliloquy, this whole speech is associated with
evil. To audience in Shakespeare's time this speech would seem
unacceptable and very blasphemous. In this soliloquy Lady MacBeth
calls upon all that is evil to help her in her quest, "Come, you
spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here And fill me from
crown to the top-full Of direst cruelty" Lady MacBeth calls upon evil
to make her immune to remorse and make all that is good inside her
evil, she tries to lose all her feminine qualities because she thins
that by being a woman it would make her weaker. "Come to my woman's
breasts, And take my milk for gall, " Lady MacBeth uses this sentence
to show that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her husband. In
scene 7, Lady MacBeth shows another side to her character She is
trying to convince MacBeth to murder Duncan, "From this time Such I
account thy love. Art thou afeard To be the same in thine own act and
valour As thou art in desire?" By questioning Macbeths love for she is
morally blackmailing him into doing this deed, she also calls him a
coward for getting what he wants, "Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I
...

Find Another Essay On Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

1791 words - 7 pages
The Downfall of Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
William Shakespeare's Macbeth has been a theatrical favorite since Elizabethan times. Its timeless themes of ambition, fate, violence, and insanity collaborate to produce a captivating plot. The audience traces the disintegration of a tragic hero and his willful wife. Lady Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, plays an important role in the play

2451 words - 10 pages
The Development of Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
In Act 1 Scene 5 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are very close he addresses
her in the letter as, Â‘my dearest partner of greatnessÂ’ Lady Macbeth
is keen to see Macbeth to discuss the murder with him, but fears he
is, Â‘too full ofÂ’ the milk of human kindnessÂ’. This proves how well
she understands her husband. She respects him by calling him, Â‘Great
Glamis

3840 words - 15 pages
Analysis of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Play
"This dead butcher and his fiend-like queen"
Macbeth is a play of murder and witchcraft. Many actors when
performing it on stage are too superstitious to use the real name, and
call it " The Scottish play" instead believing that this way they will
avoid bad luck being brought on themselves. The quotation from
Malcolm's speech (V.ix.36) seems to

970 words - 4 pages
The Changing Attitudes of Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
In Shakespearean England, women’s role in society was very different
to what it is today. Today, women are allowed, and in fact, almost
expected to be educated, independent, confidant, outspoken, and to go
to work, to provide for themselves.
In the 1600’s, it wasn’t like that. Women were gentle, kind, and
fragile. If they were well off, they were

1314 words - 5 pages
"We must always think about things, and we must think about things as they are, and not as they are said to be" (George Bernard Shaw). These words define how people tend to only view things from the outside, without looking deeper. They do not look past the stereotypes to see things for what they really are. Such is the case of Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The audience generally views her as a Machiavellian villain. They do not

1613 words - 6 pages
Lady Macbeth's Strategy in William Shakespeare's Play Macbeth
In the seventh scene of act one Macbeth has left the banquet, and expresses his doubts about murdering Duncan in a monologue. Lady Macbeth comes in, and argues with Macbeth, until she manages to 'convince' him, that he has to murder Duncan.
To do that Lady Macbeth uses mainly two arguments.
'Letting 'I dare not? wait upon ?I would? like the poor cat i? the adage? (lines 43

1796 words - 7 pages
Lady Macbeth's Influence Upon Her Husband in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth the theatrical production in a
period of time when there was an intense outbreak of superstition
coating Britain. Witches, devils, and demons were all deliberated to
be present in civilization and there was a fervent conviction that
they were constantly plotting against all that was considered to be
good in the

1519 words - 6 pages
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth are both examples of tragic heroes who possess a tragic flaw. According to Webster's dictionary, a tragic flaw is defined as "a flaw in character that brings about the downfall of the hero of a tragedy." Macbeth held within his character the flaw of ambition, as well as moral weakness and selective perception, which all eventually contributed to his untimely death. In Lady Macbeth's

4125 words - 17 pages
Lady Macbeth as a Wife and as a Woman in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
In the play 'Macbeth', there is one main relationship. This is between
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth
is the stronger partner. She believes that with her help, Macbeth can
become King of Scotland. She uses all her powers of persuasion to get
Macbeth to murder the King. She plans all his actions and tells him
how

1861 words - 7 pages
The Relationship Between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Play The play of Macbeth is all about power and greed. It is about ambition
overriding inhibitions and the conscience of a good man. Macbeth is
portrayed as a good and a brave man at the start of the book, for
example King Duncan himself refers to him as "O valiant

1582 words - 6 pages
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as Evil Murderers in William Shakespeare's Play
At the start of this play Macbeth is mentioned by witches which
doesn’t give him credibility with the audience, whilst soon after
Macbeth is seen as a brave, loyal and trustworthy servant of his king,
Duncan. Almost as soon as the play starts, you hear of Macbeth’s
bravery; “Brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name…Like Valour’s
minion.” But soon

Similar Essays

2803 words - 11 pages
Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
Throughout Macbeth, we are introduced to several interesting
characters that influence events for good or bad. Perhaps the most
complete character of all could be argued to be Lady Macbeth. Lady
Macbeth often takes centre stage and reveals her emotions to the
audience through several soliloquies. Because she is such a complex
character, the audience has to make their own

909 words - 4 pages
Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is strong, incisive,
completely in control, ‘To alter favour is to fear, leave all the rest
to me.’ At this point Lady Macbeth is the stronger of her and Macbeth.
While he is stricken with guilt, she is in control and ready to do
what she has to in order to ensure the fate she wants for herself. She
has a masterful scheme and

1797 words - 7 pages
Shakespeare manipulates the audience’s opinions on whom was most responsible for the death of Duncan in many ways, I feel he does this to create question and surprise to the play. Shakespeare leads you along one path of thought, to then divert your thoughts onto another. Many people have different opinions and interpretations to this play; A.C Bradley once wrote “Lady Macbeth is the most commanding and perhaps the most awe-inspiring figure

1664 words - 7 pages
The Breakdown of Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
Throughout the play of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth goes through several
drastic personality changes, which finally leads her to breakdown. In
some ways I feel the breakdown and collapse of lady Macbeth is quite
unexpected, but on the other end of the scale it could be seen to be
inevitable. I will cover the points for and against, how the collapse
could be seen to